A long-running feud between families from Kentucky and West Virginia will be the subject of a six-hour, three-night mini-series on the History Channel

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The Hatfields & McCoys come to the History Channel next week

 
A long-running feud between families from Kentucky and West Virginia will be the subject of a six-hour, three-night mini-series on the History Channel beginning Monday night at 9 EDT.

The 19th century feud between the Hatfields and McCoys has become part of American folklore.

Oscar winner Kevin Costner plays Devil Anse Hatfield, patriarch of West Virginia's Hatfield family. Actor Bill Paxton plays Randall McCoy, head of Kentucky's McCoy family.

The real-life feud between the families began after the Civil War in the woods separating Kentucky and West Virginia. Over a 25 year span, 15 members of the two families were killed in fighting over timber rights, a pair of start-crossed lovers and even a pig.

"Both of these men engaged in hand-to-hand combat, they killed people, watched friends killed. So when they came out of the Civil War, they probably had memories they could never shake," Costner told the Reuters news service. "I don't think they wanted to fight at all. I think they had to protect themselves and their families."

The family feud finally petered out in 1888. But it wasn't officially over until descendants of the two families signed a truce in 2003.

The Hatfields & McCoys is the History Channel's first scripted project.

Kentucky Press News Service